A Good Works Staff Perspective

THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER AND THE POOR ARE GETTING POORER
According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau in August of 2007, 37.3 million individuals lived below the poverty level in the US in 2007, an increase of .8 million from 2006. Also in 2007, 13.3 million children (or 18%) were living in poverty (US Census Bureau; all figures rounded). In rural Ohio, the situation is particularly bleak, as nearly 1 in 4 of people under 18 are living in poverty

Moreover, the percentage of citizens living in poverty (a staggering 31.6% in Athens County according to the Don’t Turn Away Ohio Blog) is consistently and overwhelmingly higher than the national and state averages (12.5% and 13.1% respectively, according to the 2004 US Census). According to the Athens News (December 11, 2008 “Athens Tops National Poverty List…”), 52.3% of Athens County residents are living below the federal poverty level.

The increasing problem of poverty is further compounded by a lack of affordable housing. In Athens County alone, there are currently approximately 500 families on the waiting list for subsidized housing through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with a minimum waiting time of 6 months to one year for help. According to a report from the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), only 1 in 4 Ohioans in need of subsidized housing actually receives federal assistance. Persons living in poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless, and demographic groups who are more likely to experience poverty are also more likely to experience homelessness.

WORK AND HOMELESSNESS
It is a common misconception that poor and homeless people do not work. The unfortunate fact is that 6.3 million of the nation's poor work full-time. The percentage of poor people working full-time in the U.S. has grown by 33% since 1979. Today, 18% of the people who work full-time are below the poverty line (in 2000, 'poverty' meant making $17,050 for a family of four). With a steady decrease in affordable housing and a steady increase in inflation and standard of living, poor people are lagging further and further behind. With the minimum wage at $7.30 an hour and the local housing market dominated by students, the rural poor of this area have a tough time making ends meet. While a number of this group spend some amount of time in shelters like The Good Works Timothy House, an even greater number are barely hanging on, living from paycheck to paycheck, jumping from one family member or friend’s house to another. These people cannot afford minor crises like home repairs, a trip to the hospital, or a falling out with friends.

MORE THAN HOUSING
Aside from being poor, there is no one reason that people become homeless. Every homeless person has a unique story, and usually there are a combination of factors in someone's life that contribute to their homelessness. In many cases, the people who come to stay at the Timothy House have been trying to get by with a small amount of money. Then, if they lose their job, get sick, or something else bad happens to them, they no longer have money to pay for rent. Some common issues that contribute to persons becoming homeless include: lack of education, lack of affordable housing, lack of employable job skills, addictions, and mental illness. It’s important to remember, however, that these issues, by themselves, usually don’t cause homelessness. It is usually a collision of several of these issues simultaneously which eventually leads to a person’s homelessness.

TRUTH ABOUT HOMELESSNESS
Some folks believe that the reason people become homeless is because they are lazy. This is a myth. Many people who become homeless are working or had been working for a long time until something caused them to lose their employment. Sometimes people have injuries that prevent them for doing the kind of work they’re trained to do. Sometimes they lose a job because of cutbacks. Factories and industries have been closing all over Southeastern Ohio for decades. Working hard doesn’t always guarantee financial security.

BECOMING AN ADULT
Sometimes, parents do not pass basic life skills on to their children. We take for granted many things we learn from our families and friends such as how to spend our money, how to find and keep a job, how to pay our bills, or how to maintain relationships with people. Without knowledge of how the world works, it is difficult to become an independent person. Poverty in these areas of life often result in children becoming adults with nowhere to go and no one to turn to.

The inability to resolve conflicts satisfactorily in one relationship will carry over into other relationships. When we do not learn from the wrongs we have committed against one person, we will wrong another individual in the same way. This piling up of unresolved conflicts will create a situation in which a person has no one to turn to in a crisis situation.

INDEPENDENCE VS. INTERDEPENDENCE
Another factor that plagues our society is pride. Appalachian men in particular are taught from an early age that accepting help is a sign of weakness. The idea of a person who “pulls himself up by his bootstraps” is an American myth. In reality, the most successful people in life must be interdependent—able to support others and receive support for themselves. When communities work well, everyone does what they can for themself, offering help to others when its needed, and receiving help as needed.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Women who are in poverty and being abused frequently have to choose between abuse and homelessness. According to a 2001 study by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, approximately half of all women and children who become homeless are fleeing an abuser. Thousands of people each year must choose homelessness over abuse.

RESPONSIBILITY
Whether they are material or financial, resources help us to have stability. The inability to access or manage resources can put us into a downward spiral. Often one resource can lead to the access of other resources. For example, if I have reliable transportation (a material resource), I will be able to get and maintain employment (a financial resource).

JOB SKILLS
Some people end up homeless because they can’t find a job that pays enough. There are very few well-paying jobs available to unskilled workers, and education or job training are viewed as a luxury. Minimum wage is $6.85 an hour. If you work 40 hours a week, you will take home about $230.00 a week or about $950.00 a month after taxes. That may seem like enough until you have to use $500 of that money on rent, make a car payment, buy food, buy clothing, go to the doctor, or buy diapers.

HOUSING
People become homeless because there is not enough decent and affordable housing. According to the attorney general, by December of 2007, foreclosure rates were up 97% over previous years, and nearly one million homes were projected to be repossessed in 2008. There have been many reports of displaced people "squatting" in vacant foreclosed homes. One out of every seven poor families in America lives in a home with a severe physical inadequacy—meaning the home either is lacking one or all of the following: electricity, hot water, a toilet, or a place to bathe. At the Timothy House, we frequently meet people who have homes, but cannot afford to make and keep them livable. Additionally, there is a shortage of actual rental units. For every 100 people who would be low-income renters, only 76 units exist to meet their need.

FRIENDS AND PEOPLE WHO REALLY LOVE YOU
While there are many issues that contribute to a person becoming homeless, a common thread among so many homeless people is the absence of an adequate, supportive, stable social network in their life. For various reasons people who become homeless–even temporarily so–no longer have a "safety net" of relationships in their lives to help them when their crisis comes. Healthy and supportive relationships are an invisible resource that can be much more important than financial or educational resources.

DRUG ABUSE
Many people develop drug or alcohol addictions as a way to cope with poverty, homelessness, mental illness or physical illness. Others are wealthy but become poor, homeless or mentally and physically ill because of drug abuse. Statistics vary, but historically, about a third of people who become homeless have a substance abuse disorder. By no means is every homeless person an addict, but addiction is certainly common among those who are homeless.

MENTAL ILLNESS
The common stereotype of a severely mentally ill person huddled in doorways at night or sleeping in a car is not descriptive of the majority of homeless people. Nationwide, and at Good Works about 25% of people experiencing homelessness at any given time are mentally ill. While the number of homeless people spiked dramatically in the early 1980s after state institutions closed, most of those who are mentally ill are not homeless for that reason. Mental illness alienates people from their support systems and sometimes prevents them from receiving that support altogether. This can make it difficult for persons with a severe mental illness to maintain relationships with supportive people or to accept help.

POOR HEALTH
Some people can become homeless through health problems or injuries. Working class people who live pay-check-to-pay-check are unprepared for the astounding costs of medical bills. While many “at risk” people have no health coverage at all, even people who have insurance can become victims. Nearly 1/3 of people living in poverty have no health insurance of any kind—not even Medicaid. The rising cost of medicine and surgery can leave people owing thousands of dollars, even after insurance stops paying. With no one to fall back on, they can easily lose all their possessions and their home as well.

NATURAL DISASTER
Because of a natural disaster such as a fire, tornado, hurricane or flood, some people cannot return to their homes. Insurance coverage is often not enough to help them fix or rebuild their home. Many times, people are left with few choices but to seek shelter, live on the street or in their vehicles. Even if their insurance is enough, it often takes a long time to collect their money.

RUNNING FROM PROBLEMS
Some individuals or families believe that the answer to their problems is to move to a new town. While it is true that job opportunities and housing costs vary from place to place, relocating is often not the panacea that people are looking for. Once they move to the town, they may have enough money to get by for a couple of days or weeks until they find a job and a place to rent. This job might not come quickly enough and, instead of successfully running away from their problems, they end up with a bigger problem of homelessness.